Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The Story So Far (Part 4) - Relegation Candidates

As the TPL table stands just now, it appears that any five from the seven below will be taking the drop to the first division.

Sisaket

Current Position: 14th

The
Dangerous
Kouprey can be reasonably pleased with their return to the TPL after
a lengthy courtroom battle left them idle for the majority of 2013.
There
aren’t many household names in the squad, but that’s possibly why it’s
working
so far. Their key to survival is beating the teams currently below them
in the
table. At this moment, they are just above danger zone courtesy of goal
difference. The important factor for Sisaket is to remain in the TPL and
build from there.

Bangkok
United

Current Position: 15th

The club
parted ways with the wily Sasom Pobprasert during the off-season and they
probably regret doing that now. His replacement Rui Bento didn’t even make it
to Songkran festival and former Police coach Thawatchai has been given the task
of saving the Angels. I expect he'll be one of the busiest mangers in the upcoming transfer window as he brings in fresh faces to replace some of the well paid journeymen currently at the club. In the meantime, losing 7-0 at Tero a fortnight ago hardly inspires
confidence and the underachieving squad are in real danger of
dropping down a division.

Songkhla
United

Current Position: 16th

The big
dream of being the Buriram of the south has never emerged and the club are on
route to return to the first division were the now extinct Songkhla FC once lingered.
The Fighting Bulls are averaging less than one goal per game and the have the equal worst
defensive record in the league. That’s not a good combination. Home form could
be their savior.

Police

Current Position: 17th

It’s been a
Jekyll and Hyde start to the season for Police. An impressive 5-1 win over Air
Force and a 1-1 draw at Muangthong wasn’t capitalized on with the club losing
five out of their next six games. That run cost Carlos Roberto his job and he’s
been surprisingly replaced by Mika Lonnstrom. The Finn was recruited from a Roi
Et United side that were second from bottom in Division 1. If Police can get
their strikers firing, then they should be able to avoid the drop.

PTT Rayong

Current Position: 18th

The Oil
Millionaires got off to a decent start and a comfortable mid-table finish
appeared on the cards. However, the turning point in their season came when
they blew a 2-0 lead at home to Chonburi, eventually drawing 2-2. Since then,
their solid defensive unit have started shipping goals and their only win came nine games ago against Samut Songkhram. Fortunately, for the club, they have
the money and resources to revamp their squad for the second leg.

Samut
Songkhram

Current Position: 19th

The usually
dysfunctional club seemed set for a stable season after a new sponsorship deal
allowed them to make early purchases in the transfer market. Unfortunately hardly any of them have lived up to their billing. The upgrade of
their home stadium has seen them relocate to the stadiums of Ratchaburi and
Army. In their absence from home, they’ve lost all four contests. The Mackerels
only win was at Air Force and they need to return to home base as soon as
possible if they have any chance of survival.

Air Force

Current Position: 20th

It’s
been a
dismal return to the top flight for Air Force. With no wins in 11
attempts, it
appears incredibly likely that they will be making an instant return to
the
second tier. Instead of building on their promotion winning team, they
dismantled it and brought in several new faces. Lee Tuck was acquired
from
Bangkok FC and with Kouassi Hermann, they were expected to bang in the
goals.
Neither of the duo have managed to find their first division goal
scoring form
and as a result Air Force are rooted to the floor of the TPL. They are
already 7 points from safety and are in danger of being cut adrift at
the bottom.